seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Mark 13:1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’[a] standing where it[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.
20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
24 “But in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c]
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c]
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert[e]! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Footnotes:a. Mark 13:14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
b. Mark 13:14 Or he
c. Mark 13:25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
d. Mark 13:29 Or he
e. Mark 13:33 Some manuscripts alert and pray
This is from Bible-studys.org.
This is called the Olivet Discourse, having been delivered on the Mount of Olives.
This great sermon by Jesus is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse because Jesus delivered it on the Mt. of Olives just east of the temple across the Kidron Valley. Jesus’ prediction of the coming destruction of the temple prompted a question from the disciples about the character of the end times. The remainder of the passage, is His response to their question as He describes His second coming at the end of the present age.
This Scripture has come true in our life-time. In World War 2, many youngsters betrayed their own parents and caused them to be killed. They felt that they were being patriotic. Jesus knew all of this would happen, because of His foreknowledge.
“Endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”. This endurance does not produce salvation; it is Spirit-empowered perseverance and proof of the reality of salvation in the one who endures. Christ will eventually deliver such believers out of the present evil system into God’s eternal kingdom (Matt. 10:22).
In a world that has gone crazy over the flesh and the lust thereof, the Christian is hated. I truly believe the reason they hate the Christian (someone who is Christ-like), is because of the guilt they feel when they are around you. They especially feel this guilt, if they have known the truth and walked away from it.
The abomination of desolation”: This first referred to the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanies, the king of Syria, in the second century B.C., when he sacrificed a pig on the temple altar. That event was similar in character to what Jesus refers to here. I.e., the Antichrist’s ultimate desecration when he sets up an image of himself in the temple during the tribulation.
“Standing where it ought not”: indicates the location as the “holy place.” On the only other occasion where this phrase from Matthew appears in the New Testament, it clearly refers to the temple (Acts 21:28).
This specifically implies that the temple will be rebuilt in the future and that the daily sacrificial system will be reinstated. “Standing” indicates that the abomination of desolation will be continuous, actually lasting for 3-1/2 years (Dan. 12:11; Rev. 12:6).
“Let him that readeth understand”: This indicates that Jesus was not issuing these warnings to the disciples or to others of their generation who would not experience this event, but to believers in the end time. Those who will read these truths will be prepared and “understand” the trials they are enduring.
“Flee to the mountains”: The Greek word for “flee” is related to the English word “fugitive,” A person who is on the run to escape danger. Jesus warns those who live in Judea to escape the holocaust by taking refuge in the mountains.
“With child … give suck”: Jesus certainly felt compassion for those women who will be hindered from fleeing quickly because they carry children. But He may have been warning them about atrocities that could include unborn children being slashed in the wombs and tiny infants being crushed (Hos. 13:16).
“In the winter”: This refers to the rainy season in Israel, when streams could become impassable and it would be difficult to glean food from barren fields.
“Lo, here is Christ”: Satan will cause false christs to appear in an attempt to deceive the elect into leaving their places of refuge. False teachers will claim that Christ is in their midst or is back in Jerusalem or elsewhere in Judea.
In, the very first thing Jesus said was, "Take heed lest any man deceive you". He was still saying that here. In our society today, so many false doctrines have been brought in, that many of them are filtering into our churches. Oriental mind control is one thing that I have noticed. There is just a hair difference in having extreme faith and practicing mind over matter.
The main thing to remember when we are practicing faith is that we must have faith in the power of Jesus, not in our own power. Great faith should be practiced by everyone, but remember it is in the Name of Jesus and through the power of His shed blood. We are people, we will never be God. The power is His; we have been authorized to use His power by speaking His name. It is His power, not ours.
Any philosophy or religion that brings Jesus down to the level of man is false. Any that brings man up to Godhood is false. He is God, and we are His servants and adopted children. He treats us as a child, but we are to serve Him. He is Creator; we are His creation. Do not be taken by signs and wonders. Even Pharaoh's magicians could do some of the wonders Moses did.
God calls the generation that bases their belief on signs evil. The Lord does wonderful miracles through His people, and it is real and from God, but do not base your faith on the signs. Those who follow Jesus will perform miracles in His name, but don't get your eyes on the gift or off the Giver.
As we said earlier in this lesson, try the spirits and see whether they be of God or not. Jesus is not hidden to the believer. You do not have to go off to some exotic place to find Him. When you are to see Him with your physical eye, He will appear in the eastern sky.
In the meantime, He dwells in your heart and in heaven now. False doctrines elevate man. The Truth elevates God. To know the Truth, we must study His Word (The Bible).
A man, a man I really like and respect, told me the Bible is a made up story and people who say they are Christians are liars and thieves. They claim to be one thing but really they are only taking money in the name of their storybook hero. Jesus was just one martyr among many. Immediately I thought "dust off your sandals".I admit.... I'm anxious about end times. I think we're right on the edge..... I mean look at the doomsday clock.... it's really really really close. I don't like having the earth shift under my feet. I don't like seeing everything tremble. I don't think I want to hear rocks screaming as they rip. I am afraid it will hurt. I know I will survive it all..... even if I'm stuck here on earth when it all begins.... I'll survive because I have eternal life.... even if that man I know thinks it's hogwash.
I have been talking to that man about the Bible for years. He knows a lot of the parts of my life that were a direct result of my faith. I know that this man has opened his heart..... but he does like to debate.... especially in these days of confinement.
Jesus wants us all to know.... things will not always be like this. Things are going to get worse..... but then.... if we hang in there and have faith in God [not ourselves], things will get excellent..... like beyond our wildest dreams excellent.
Watch! Jesus said "Watch".
